The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-06-30
winds that blow; free as the waters

was. From the mountain and from
the valley; from the deep, dark woods
and from the free, open prairie; from
field, and city, and village; from the
shop and from the office; and more
than all, and grander than xil. from
the home they came in answer to that
call. They waited. not; they tarrled
not; they hesitated not; they came will
lingly; they came cheerfully; they
came triumphantly; they came as the
waves come when navies are stranded.
You, aud you, and you, answered
that call. For that answer, today we
remember you; for that answer, today
that banner of beauty and of glory is
n ore beaute0us and more glorious; for
that answer, our children and our
children g children will hold you in
grateful memory.
And that this may he assured, Is in
part one of the ends, and will be one of
the results OF these reunions. We tell
to our children. that they may tell to
their children. this story of the past,
that the memory Of the men who with
the life in the palm of the hand, an
swered 80 grandly that call, may never
grow dim.
And we keep these reunions in part
that the memories of others fade not
from our hearts. They are those who
came not back to their homes. They
sleep in the silent cities of the dead.
They sleep where they fell. Under the
sunny skies of the Southland; under
the magnolia; under the live oak; are
their resting places. 1t is we'll that
they sleep where they do. Their work
would not be we'll done did they sleep
elsewhere. For every grassy mound
that the dews of the suDmerland keep
green, there is vacant seat III Il nor
thern home. That vacant chair in the
north, aud that sleeping soldier in the
south, bind together that north and
that south with bonds that are strong
er than iron; that are stronger than
laws; that are stronger than constitu'
tiOns. Where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also. They are your
dead, and the land in which your dead
sleep is your land, and your country,
and no alien flag will ever float over it.
This gathering is 4 reunion of the
Grand Army Of the Republic. This
organization has covered the land and
has become one Of the fixed institu
tions OF the country. Its coming into
life and its continued existence is wor.
thy of note, and thought it would be
instructive to view the facts III human
nature that founded this organization.
All men are alike, the man and the
woman who came out of Eden and you
who stand before me. Man carnOt
live in the present only. The memories
OF the past and the hopes Of the future
are your life today, and make it what
it is. That past and that future make
the present what it is, whether it be
good or whether it be evil. And there
is, besides. q feeling in man, craving
for associat ion, based on the memories
of the past, that has helped to found
and tO keep alive this organization.
Time flies fast. Its swift wings never
tire. Through the day and through
the night, while we work, or play, or
sleep, and think not, the years keep
their even flight, and before we are
aware he thought comes, nnbidden AID
startling for the moment: I, too, am
growing old. That thought has come
to some of you; it will come to all Of
y"n. As the years grow upon one,
whether he will or whether me will not.
the heart turns backward. He fOrgets
not the fair pr. sent nor values less the
friends OF today, but whether he will
or whether he will not, the heart turns
backw ward and he is tempted to say.
there are no songs like the old songs;
there are no friends like the old friends;
there are no days like the old days.
Brought into life and nurtured by
these things that exist always. this Or
ganizati"n must endure; 1t must live.
Its existence is not measured by
months. nor by years, nor yet by the
life. nor by the death. nor by the deeds,
nor by the misdeeds of any one man.
Until the earth grows old,
Until the sun grows cold,
Until the leaves Of the jud gmcnt book unfold,
Is the measure Of its life.
And this is true; although day by
day, one aud another. weary from the
march, drop out of the ranks and cross
over the river to rest under the shade
of the trees. And this is true; al
though the day comes, and sooner than
we think, when the Grand Army of
the Republic will gather for the last
time Oh earth; and one. the only meln-
ber of that vast army, will take his
way, with bowed head and trembling
steps, to strew flowers OH the sleeping
places of his comrades, and his work
done, to lay him down by their side
and rest with them. And this is true;
although one who may witness that
scene may be tempted to write: The
end has come; the story is told; the
Grand Army of the Republic has be-
come the Grand Army of the Dead.
But the end has not come. How often
has it l,een told to men that the dead
are not dead? There will be another
gathering of the Grand Army of the
Republic. Not one will be missing at
that reunion; not q name unanswered
at that roll call. Have you ever
thought of the crOwding millions who
priests, and prophets. and the great OF
all time will be there. The ruler and
the ruled of all ages will be there. The
earth and the sea will give up their
dead to be there. The wrong doer and
the wrOngpd will face each other there.
Husband and wife will meet there.
The mother will hold her child in he1
arms once more; brother will greet
brother there; friend look friend in
the eye; and the lover and the loved
will clasp hands again. You will be
there; and will be there; and all that
have ever lived will be there. The i'm
aginatiOn falters when it attempts to
picture the grandeur and the magnifi-
cence of the day, that will witness the
last reunion of the Grand Army of the
Republic; when it, with the countless
millions Of all time will pass IN review
before the captain of the Lords host.
Then, and only then can it be truth
fnlly said: The end has come; the sto-
ry is told. The memories of the past
and the hopes of the future. those God.
given gifts that came out of Eden with
man, have doue their works, and are
needed no more. The past and the fu.
ture have locked hands and have be-
come the present forevermore.
And now have tried to tell you, in
my poor way, what this organization
of the Grand Army Of the Republic is
that it is monument builded of livinq
men; and have tried to tell you why
these monuments are built; to keeI
alive the memories Of the past, not fol
themselves merely, but for the good
and for the influence they have on rh<
present, and on the future; and have
| endeAYOred tn show Won that v0nr or.